Roundup: Women's track & field wins SECs

The No. 6 University of Florida women's track and field team claimed the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship, its second indoor league team crown in the last three years.

Special to The Sun

The No. 6 University of Florida women's track and field team claimed the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship, its second indoor league team crown in the last three years and the seventh indoor team title for the Gator women, on Sunday at the E.J. Nutter Field House on the campus of the University of Kentucky. The UF women scored 132 total points to win the championship, while No. 2 LSU finished second with 109 points and No. 4 Arkansas was third with 99. The Razorbacks won the men's team title with 151 points, while the No. 2 Gators were second with 137 and No. 24 Georgia placed third with 85.5.“These ladies had a team-only meeting last April,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “They made the decision that they were going to get better and get better in a hurry, and they were second at SEC Outdoors. They sat down in the fall and they talked about what we were capable of doing and how we were going to get it done, and I think what you saw this weekend was a byproduct of that.” The Gator women utilized 16 out of 20 scoring opportunities on Sunday, as Florida scored 98 points on the final day of the SEC Indoor Championships. Distance runner Florence Ngetich brought home the lone individual Sunday SEC Championship for the women with her performance in the women's 5000 meters. Ngetich, along with teammates Genevieve LaCaze and Callie Cooper, formed a pack at the front of the race, leading until the final lap. Ngetich and LaCaze broke away on the final lap, as Ngetich cruised to a first-place finish with her time of 16:12.64. LaCaze matched her career-best time of 16:24.59 to finish second and Cooper put in a personal-best performance of 16:29.69, finishing fifth as the trio combined for 22 points.Florida will send select athletes to the Last Chance Meets next weekend, before the Gators travel to Nampa, Idaho for the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships, hosted by Boise State University on March 9-10.WOMEN'S GOLF: Florida completed first round play at the 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship in a tie for seventh. The Gators, who shot a team total of 300 (plus-12), were led by senior Andrea Watts, who finished the first day tied for sixth after tying her season-best with a first round even-par 72. “As a team, the most important thing we focused on the past few weeks was course management, and if you look at our team score card, we didn't have a single double-bogey or worse, which is a huge sign for me that we're going in the right direction,” head coach Jan Dowling said.LACROSSE: No. 4 Florida team braved the elements again Sunday, defeating the University of Detroit Mercy Titans, 22-3, in the rain. The Gators captured their fourth straight victory, scoring over 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time in team history. The win lifts Florida to 4-1, while Detroit opens the year 0-1.“I thought we played really well,” said Head Coach Amanda O'Leary. “They did all the things that we asked them to do. They made adjustments from Friday night. I think defensively we were solid. Offensively, obviously, did a good job with all our goals, and I though Cara and Mikey played great in goal. I was really overall happy with our performance.”WOMEN'S TENNIS: No. 2 Florida squared off against the No. 13 North Carolina Tar Heels at Ring Tennis Complex on the University of Florida campus. After rain pushed back the start time over an hour, the match was eventually canceled due to rain during doubles competition. The match will not be rescheduled.The Gators' pursuit for their 99th straight home victory will continue against Florida State on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.